Liam Payne is celebrating a major sobriety milestone. In an interview with boxing channel IFL TV after Saturday’s Joe Fournier/KSI fight in London the former One Direction singer noted that he’s got more than 100 days of not drinking under his belt.
“Things are really, really good. I’m sober now over 100 days. I feel amazing,” Payne said. “I feel really, really good, and support from the fans and everything has been really, really good. So, I’m super happy.”
“I’ve been making an album for a change, which is quite fun and it’s been good so I’m excited to bring it out and I definitely want to tour this time,” he said of the as-yet-untitled follow-up to his 2019 debut full-length solo album, LP1. “It’s just unusual because I wasn’t sure I was going to tour for a long time.”
Payne, 29, said he was “over” the idea of touring for a bit, but not he’s really excited to get back out on the road and see his fans again. In 2021, Payne discussed his substance use issues on the Diary of a CEO podcast, revealing his struggle with depression and substances during the chaotic 1D years.
“I was worried how far my rock bottom was going to be. Where’s rock bottom for me?” the singer told host Stephen Bartlett. “And you would never have seen it. I’m very good at hiding it. No one would ever have seen it.”
Payne said there were definitely things he’s “never, never spoken about. It was really, really, really severe. It was a problem,” he said of his fragile mental state and substance struggle. “And it was only until I saw myself after that I was like, ‘Right, I need to fix myself.’” He described seeing pictures of himself on a boat when he was “all bloated out,” describing what he called his “pills-and-booze face. My face was just, like, 10 times more than it is now. I just didn’t like myself very much, and then I made a change.”
The singer’s most recent music release was the 2021 one-off single “Sunshine” from the movie Ron’s Gone Wrong.
Watch Payne’s interview below.
